Weather Forecast

New public works, parks director joins city of Hudson

The city of Hudson welcomed Michael Mroz as its new public works and parks director last month, following the retirement of Tom Zeuli.

A father of four who originally is from central Wisconsin, Mroz has a love of the outdoors, and is excited to get to work with Hudson.

Becoming a director was a natural progression for Mroz, who comes to the city from New Richmond where he served as operations manager in the public works department.

"It was always a career goal of mine," Mroz said.

His path to this career took a few steps. Mroz initially studied early childhood education in his undergrad, before deciding on a different path and attending graduate school for recreation management.

"I had a passion for parks and the outdoors," Mroz said.

Once he got in, it grabbed him, and he built a 14-year career in local government.

Now as the department head in Hudson, Mroz said he is looking forward to working with the people and local organizations in Hudson.

"There's a lot of support for the parks," he said.

Meeting new people and working with the public is his favorite aspect of the job, Mroz said. He enjoys being a part of projects and commissions, and having a hand in implementing new ideas.

"At the end of the day you can see things that you've helped change in the community," Mroz said.

Mroz is joining the city at a time when the department has a lot going on. Larger projects that he will be working on include the continued development of Lakefront park, addressing issues with Carmichael Road and implementing MS4 stormwater recommendations.

Mroz said he wants to focus on these large projects while also making sure people in residential areas are not forgotten.

"Not to single out one group, to serve the whole community," Mroz said.

In the future new projects will include street reconstruction, sidewalk repair and the ongoing fight against Emerald Ash Borer.

For now he's focusing on the budget and finishing up road projects, and then it will be time to get ready for winter.

"Every season brings its own busyness," Mroz said.

Mroz said his goal as director is to serve the public, support his staff and ensure the department has the staff and resources needed to properly serve the public as Hudson continues to expand with new developments.

"That will be one of our main goals is to continue to develop the department to meet the needs of the community," Mroz said.